Because Of The Times
by FloatingAmoeba
Summary: Written for the Chit Chat on Author's Corner Fanfic Challenge 2010. A fish named Clark, Hotch's inner nerd, Charlie Brown and JJ. For Emily, it proves to be an interesting first date.
1. Chapter 1

A/N This is my entry for Round Five of ilovetvalot's Fanfic Challenge 2010. I was given Emily/Hotch and my candy to include was Rolos. This is my first try writing this pairing romantically, and I'm not sure how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it anyway! Part two will be up tomorrow.

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own Criminal Minds. Title from Kings Of Leon.

* * *

Emily Prentiss didn't scare easily. She could look into the eyes of serial killers, stare down the barrel of a gun and face whatever evil the world could throw at her.

But lifting her hand to knock on Aaron Hotchner's door, getting ready for what everybody else considered their first date...that was pretty terrifying. Hearing footsteps approach the front stoop, Emily let out a shaky breath.

"Come on, Emily," she muttered, "It's just pizza and a movie."

The door opened, and her heart fluttered at a delightfully casual Aaron Hotchner.

"Hi," she said nervously.

Hotch felt his breath catch as light reflected off her dark hair. "Hi."

A small face appeared from behind his leg, smiling brightly. "Hi, Emily!"

"Hi, Jack," she replied.

"Do you want to see my pumpkin?" Jack asked, slipping onto the front step. Emily crouched down to see.

"You did a great job, Jack. I like his face." He beamed proudly.

"Thanks! His name is Rolo."

"Like the candy?"

"Yeah, because those ones are my favorite!"

Hotch opened the door fully, the sight of his son interacting so comfortably with Emily causing inexplicable feelings in his chest.

"Come in," he said, standing aside as she passed. Bounding into the house behind them, and shutting the door with more force than really necessary, Jack grabbed her hand.

"Em'ly, Em'ly, you hafta see my fish! He's purple!"

Laughing at the shell-shocked surprise on her face, Hotch prised his son away. "Bud, why don't you go upstairs and put your pajamas on, okay? Maybe Emily can come up and see Clark later."

Nodding vigorously, Jack took the steps two at a time, his sandy blonde hair flying in all directions. Emily bit her lip in amusement.

"Clark?"

"As in Kent," Hotch explained, and then turned to call, "Jack, put your toys away before we eat!"

Emily smiled at the distant reply yelled from upstairs. "So what are we doing?"

"You're going to order pizza, while I make popcorn, and Jack tidies his room."

"Why do I have to order the pizza?"

"Because you're the one who hates anchovies, peppers, mushrooms, sweet corn..." he listed with a chuckle, "Don't forget I've had to listen to JJ and Morgan complain that you take forever to make up your mind."

"Okay, fine."

Sliding the phone over the counter towards her, Hotch laughed at the slight pout of her lips. He rarely got a chance to see her like this – calm, radiant and completely open. The Emily he saw at work was definitely not the Emily sitting at his kitchen counter. Sure, they were both caring, sincere, and loyal to a fault, but _this_ Emily was...different.

Hotch sighed, wishing he could give her the love she deserved.

"Hotch?"

His introspection had obviously distracted him long enough for Emily to make the call and set the phone down.

"What's going on in there?" she asked in amusement, waving a hand in front of his face.

"What?"

"You looked...wistful. I just wondered why."

_Oh, if only you knew, _Hotch thought with a barely hidden smile. "It was nothing," he replied. Em wasn't convinced, and did nothing but arch a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Okay, well, whatever you say. The pizza will be about fifteen minutes. Hey, can I use your bathroom?" she asked. He nodded.

"Use the one off my bedroom – up the stairs, first door on the right. There are boxes piled up in the downstairs restroom."

Emily arched an eyebrow. "How long have you lived here? Six months?"

"Just go pee," Hotch shot back with a roll of his eyes. Chuckling, she disappeared up the stairs, following his directions and finding herself in a small en-suite. Sitting down on the closed toilet lid, Emily blew out a shaky breath, her knees bouncing.

Minutes passed in silence. What was _wrong_ with her? She'd been gearing up for this all week – hell, Garcia had spent an hour coaching her on how to contain her anxieties.

"Emily, the pizza's here!" Jack called, jolting her out of her thoughts. Standing, she flushed the toilet so that Hotch wouldn't think she had been freaking out in his bathroom – which, she realized with a sigh, was exactly what she _had_ been doing – and washed her hands.

"Okay?" Hotch asked, looking at her with slight concern as she made it down the stairs. Smiling at him reassuringly, she nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Em, you just spent fifteen minutes in my bathroom," he said in a low voice, "You don't think I know when somebody is freaking out?"

_Dammit_. She sighed in acknowledgement, then followed him to the living room. "So what movie are we watching?"

"Daddy picked it," Jack said, comfortable on a bean bag beside the sofa, "It's Charlie Brown's Halloween."

Hearing Hotch groan from behind her, Emily arched an eyebrow, settling herself into the cushions with a grin. "Oh, _Daddy_ picked it, huh?"

Jack nodded. "Yep. He said that 'cause I said that Rolo had to be named Rolo, Daddy got to pick the movie for when you was here."

Jack barely made it through the first half of the movie, his eyes closing and his head dropping forward. Removing the half-eaten slice of pizza from his son's limp hand, Hotch scooped Jack into his arms, easily carrying him up the stairs. Kissing him on the forehead and tucking the covers to his chin, Hotch stood for a moment, just watching his son sleep peacefully. Hearing a laugh from downstairs, he couldn't think of a thing that could make his evening more perfect, and returned to Emily's side.

"Oh, this is the best bit!" she said excitedly, and Hotch laughed softly.

"Stop talking, Sally Brown," he whispered, nudging her with his elbow. Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, Emily nodded.

"Sure thing, Rerun."

"You really are a nerd," he mused thoughtfully, his eyes sparkling in amusement. She scoffed in disbelief.

"Hey, I'm not the one who has _It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_ on DVD."

He moved closer, his arm sliding around her shoulders. Surprised, she turned her head. The emotion swirling in his dark eyes stole her breath, and as his stare dropped to her lips, it took all her strength not to just close the distance.

"Emily..."

"Hotch," she groaned, almost to the point of whining, "Aaron. You shouldn't do this."

"Why not?" he breathed. Emily shook her head, twisting her body out of his gentle hold.

"You don't know how long I've wanted this to happen, and maybe I thought it would, but now you're in a relationship. I don't want to be _that_ woman."

Hotch was confused. "Did you just say that I'm in a relationship?" he asked dumbly. She nodded slowly.

"Yes. With JJ."

"With _who_?" Hotch echoed incredulously, surprise coloring his words, "Emily, what are you talking about?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N I don't really like this chapter, because I lost my thread somewhere in there. It's a little strange, but I've always wondered what kind of relationship JJ and Hotch would have if they were close, but not romantically close. So I wrote it. I also ended it where I did - you'll see - so that it leaves the door open for a follow up if I decide to do it.

(I also wrote Will out because if Hotch can't have JJ, nobody can...)

Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed and alerted this story. I really appreciate it, and it's so good to know you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own Criminal Minds. Title from Kings Of Leon.

* * *

"_Did you just say that I'm in a relationship?" he asked dumbly. She nodded slowly._

"_Yes. With JJ."_

"_With who?" Hotch echoed incredulously, surprise coloring his words, "Emily, what are you talking about?"_

Her mouth was running a mile a minute trying to explain, and smirking, Hotch pressed a soft finger to her lips.

"Emily. Stop."

Cheeks flaming, she caught her tongue just as another stream of rambles was about to break free. Hotch's smirk grew into a rare grin, and she realized it was something she didn't think she could live without seeing.

"I'm not in a relationship, Em. Not right now, anyway."

Her eyes widened.

"But I thought...you and JJ..." she stammered. Hotch chuckled.

"Nope."

"But, but...she has clothes in your closet!"

"You snooped through my closet?" he asked in amusement.

Her eyes narrowed. "I was looking for a hand towel."

"In my closet?"

She glared at him, and Hotch sighed. He leant forward, pausing the movie and turning to face her.

"JJ's my best friend – as crazy as it sounds. She's good for Jack, she's good for me, and I don't know what I'd do without her. When...after Hailey, there were some nights JJ stayed here. We're lucky to have her. Hence the clothes in my closet. But she's happy being single - plus sleeping with JJ would be like...sleeping with my sister."

After a moment, Emily said, "For what it's worth, I think JJ is just as lucky to have you."

Hearing the soft admission, full of honest calm, it was no wonder that Hotch couldn't keep still. He leant forward, letting his lips brush her cheek.

"Thank you," he whispered. Emily laughed softly, her cheeks flushed pink.

"My pleasure," she replied softly and then hesitated, "So say...say we went out again. JJ wouldn't...you know, be jealous or anything?"

Hotch smiled at the thought – he knew that JJ would be the opposite of jealous. In fact, JJ was more likely to lock them in a room together to resolve the sexual tension than appear in any way resentful.

"No, I'm certain JJ wouldn't be jealous."

His face was still close to hers. With her smile fading as she read the look in his eyes, Emily swallowed hard.

"D-do you...do you think that would be something you're interested in? Going out, I mean. With me," she stammered, looking adorably flustered. Taking on a life of its own, his thumb moved to her cheek, smoothing a pattern over the smooth skin as he smiled.

"Without interruptions?"

Emily breathed a sigh of relief, unconsciously leaning into his touch. "Without interruptions," she agreed.

Just as Aaron leant forward to kiss her like he'd been thinking of doing all evening, the front door flew open.

He flinched. "Talking of interruptions..."

Emily missed the heat from his body the moment he sat back on the sofa, but a voice from the doorway drew her attention away.

"It's only me! I found you something to wear, and I made a lasagne for your freezer. Oh, and don't forget that Jack has a doctor's appointment on Friday. I swear to God, Aaron, you better..."

JJ's voice trailed off as she stepped into the lounge, her eyes widening at the sight of them sitting so close together, "Well _hello_, Emily."

"Don't you knock?" Hotch said, and if she wasn't already aware that she'd interrupted something, JJ might have been offended at his irritable tone.

Instead, she just arched an eyebrow and smiled sweetly.

"That's why you gave me a key - so I didn't have to."

He scowled at her, still holding Emily's hands. "What do you want, Jay?"

JJ's grin widened, and she waved a vague hand behind her.

"Nothing important." She raised her eyebrows, looking at their flushed cheeks and glazed eyes, "Is this some sort of team bonding session that I didn't know about?"

Hotch groaned. "And with the subtlety of a flash bang..."

Emily shifted away from him, uncomfortable under the scrutiny of JJ's piercing blue eyes. The blonde nodded in supposed realization.

"Oh, I get it. This was a _private_ meeting. I'll leave you two...alone."

Nobody could make 'alone' sound so dirty.

"Move faster, JJ," Hotch said, not liking the predatory gleam in her eyes. She arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay. Lasagne's on the side table, costume's on the stairs, doctor's on Friday. Oh, and Emily?"

"Yes?"

"If you hurt him, if you let Jack down, if you even so much as _look_ at another man...I'll show you exactly how difficult life at the BAU can be. Think missing memos, computer viruses, unhelpful handymen, jets departing without you...the whole shebang." With an angelic smile, JJ backed away, "Bye, Emily! Enjoy your evening!"

He watched her cheeks turn pink in mortification, and from the entrance hall, JJ laughed. Listening to the front door close behind her, Emily turned to him, frowning in confusion.

"Did I just get threatened by the most un-threatening member of our team?"

Hotch chuckled. "Apparently. She's harmless."

Emily's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.

"Harmless? Have you seen the way she handles her weapon?"

He laughed at the uncertainty on her face. Closing the gap between them, Aaron finally sealed his lips to hers. She sighed, melting into him as a large hand drifted through her hair. Her chest tightened, the fluttering only fading away with the eventual removal of his lips.

Stroking a thumb over her flushed cheekbone, Hotch smiled.

"Hey, Em?" he said shyly. She felt the corner of her mouth lift in an answering grin, and he pulled her closer, loving how she fit perfectly into his side.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"


End file.
